


Restart

by afterthenovels



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, IT!Blaine, M/M, Meet-Cute, Oneshot, Vogue Intern!Kurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-28
Updated: 2014-06-28
Packaged: 2018-02-06 15:13:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1862487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterthenovels/pseuds/afterthenovels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Anonymous prompted:</b> blaine is an IT guy and kurt the vogue intern's ipad/computer/whatever breaks?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Restart

**Author's Note:**

> This is partially based on my own experiences - or at least the computer trouble Kurt's having is something I've had as well... Ahem. Also, please be aware that my knowledge of computers is basically limited to social media and Microsoft Word. :D

"Hi, you've called IT, how can I-"

"Please help me before Isabelle Wright kills me," Kurt says into his phone in a rush, interrupting the person on the other end of the line. He can hear the panic in his own voice, the way he's talking faster and in an even higher pitch than normally, but it's only his second day at Vogue and he can't afford to screw up _anything_.

There's a brief chuckle - not an unkind one, though, and that at least makes Kurt feel a little better about his own personal breakdown. He's so nervous that he's willing to accept any and all kind gestures that come his way right now. All the other interns seem like they're ready to stab him in the back at any time, and he feels like he's been walking on eggshells ever since he got this job.

"From what I've heard through the office rumour mill," the tech guy starts, "Ms. Wright is a very nice person and would never kill anyone."

"I know," Kurt admits, nervously pacing the floor in front of the computer that refuses to cooperate with him. "She's been one of the few people who have been absolutely amazing so far, but I figured that if I started this phone call dramatically enough you would take me seriously and actually help me," he half-jokes.

The guy gives a soft laugh. "Alright then. How can we help prevent your imminent murder, Mr...?" he trails off, his voice sounding unnaturally patient and kind. Well, he works at tech support, he must get all sorts of crazy calls.

"Hummel," Kurt answers, stopping in his pacing and poking at the offending computer with his finger. "Kurt Hummel. I'm supposed to be setting up a presentation for my boss," he explains, "and she's going to come back from her meeting any moment now and everything should be ready by then, but this stupid computer refuses to recognize my USB stick which incidentally has the only copy of the whole presentation and-" His voice starts go higher again, his words picking up pace the longer he talks. "And what if the whole presentation is gone? What if that's why it won't recognise it? Oh my god, Isabelle told me this is important, I'm so going to be fired after just two days, I can't believe-"

"Hey, hey, Mr. Hummel-" the tech guy tries to interrupt him.

"-I'm already messing things up, the other interns are all so perfect and they have years of experience already and oh my god, I'm so screwed-"

"Kurt!" the tech guy says in a loud voice, effectively making Kurt stop. "Calm down," the guy continues, his voice softer now. "It's alright, okay? I'm sure the presentation is still there. There's no way it could've gone missing unless you deleted the file or stepped on the USB stick."

"I'm sorry," Kurt says miserably, collapsing in the chair behind the desk and staring at the ceiling, his phone held loosely in his hand. "This job just means so much to me and I can't believe I'm screwing up already. It was a real stroke of luck that I even got this position, and-"

"Hey," the tech guy interrupts again, but this time Kurt can practically hear the calming smile in his voice. "I doubt Vogue would hire anyone that wasn't competent enough. You're fine."

Kurt blinks his eyes, suddenly feeling touched that this stranger is being so kind to him. He has been running around all day, and apart from a few people like his boss Isabelle, his new co-workers haven't exactly been the nicest people to him. On top of that he's been stuck in this stupid conference room for at least fifteen minutes already, trying anything he can think of to get the stupid USB stick to work, but he hasn't had any luck so far. He promised Isabelle to set up the presentation before she came back, even gave her a reassuring smile right before she left. She would most likely understand him if he told her he had technical difficulties, but his own perfectionism refuses to accept defeat.

"Thank you," he says sincerely, brushing his hand over his eyes. "I just hate feeling inadequate, and this stupid computer is making me feel plenty of that. And don't you dare ask me if I've tried turning it off and on again," he adds after a moment.

The tech guy laughs again, the sound making something warm settle near Kurt's heart. "I wouldn't dream of it," the guy promises earnestly. "Look, we're having a quiet moment here at IT, so if you can just tell me what room you're in, I can come there and see for myself why the temperamental computer is being mean to you, okay?"

From someone else that line might sound patronizing, but somehow this guy makes it sound genuine.

"Sure," Kurt agrees, not really knowing if the sudden breathlessness of his voice is due to nerves or the surprisingly charming guy on the other end of the line. "I'm on the fifteenth floor, in room 206. It's by the first corridor, third door-"

"Third door on the right, got it," the guy says. Kurt can hear the smile in his voice. "Stay there, Kurt Hummel, and I'll be right with you," he promises before the line disconnects.

Kurt pushes his phone back into his pocket, staring at the USB stick on the desk in front of him with a small smile. It's a little embarrassing, but at least the tech guy hadn't talked to him like he was a complete moron. He does know how to use a computer, thank you very much, but for some reason the USB drive just won't show up when he plugs it in, no matter what he tries. There are a few other gadgets on the desk as well, but none of them look like they could be of any help, and Kurt's too scared to try them without knowing what they are.

He's still staring at the memory stick when there's a knock on the door, barely a few minutes after the tech guy hung up on him. Kurt gets up to answer it, but before he manages to take one more step the door is already inching open, a dark-haired man peeking into the room, and-

 _Oh_.

Kurt doesn't really know what he expected an IT guy to look like, but it certainly isn't this. This man has dark, curly hair, carefully gelled down so that only a few stray curls are springing free near his temples. His eyes are bright and big underneath his thick, almost triangle-shaped eyebrows, and even from where Kurt's standing he can see how long the guy's eyelashes are. He's wearing a red polo shirt with an old-fashioned bowtie tied around his neck - something that a lot of people could not pull off, but it works surprisingly and adorably well on him. And the shirt is... It's tight, just like his jeans are, but not in an obscene way. It still clearly shows the shape of his body underneath those clothes, and Kurt has to snap his eyes back to the man's face before he embarrasses himself any further.

He would've called tech support a lot sooner if he had known they had workers who looked like this.

"Kurt Hummel?" the guy asks with a smile. His cheeks look a little flushed, as if he's jogged all the way up here from the IT center on the first floor.

"That's me," Kurt squeaks out, mentally slapping himself for acting like a 15-year-old girl when he's faced with a gorgeous man.

The guy's smile widens and he steps into the room. "Hi, I'm Blaine, we talked on the phone earlier?" He extends his hand and Kurt shakes it, feeling the soft skin against his own and trying not to swoon because of the smile directed at him.

Blaine's eyes sweep over Kurt's body in one quick movement, his smile turning a little shy before he lets go of his hand - and oh my god, was the gorgeous tech guy just checking him out?

"Is this the computer that's giving you trouble?" Blaine asks, nodding towards the desk.

"Y-yes, that's the one," Kurt answers, moving aside. Yes, computers. Right. That's what they're trying to figure out. "The USB drive's just on the desk," he goes on, following Blaine. "I tried everything I could think of, but it just wouldn't show up."

"Hmm, let's see..." Blaine furrows his brows, his hands already flying over the keyboard in quick, practiced movements. He has really nice hands. They would probably look really good against Kurt's skin, slightly more tanned than his own - and jesus, he needs to stop that train of thought right now.

"Everything seems fine," Blaine says slowly after a moment, picking up the memory stick. "Let me just... You tried plugging it in here, right?" He gestures at the black box on the desk next to the monitor.

Kurt frowns. "No, I tried to plug it in there." He points at the other black box under the desk, the one that actually looks like a computer.

Blaine blinks, and then the corners of his mouth twitch up in a small smile. "Um. I guess no one told you that the actual computer is this black box here?" he says slowly, patting the box on the desk with his hand.

"That's not a computer," Kurt argues, crossing his arms over his chest. "It can't be. It looks like... Like an old VCR or something."

"True," Blaine admits, "but this is the one where you need to put all your USB drives and things like that. All of our conference rooms have computers like this."

He plugs the memory stick in, and almost immediately the computer lets out a small ping as it opens up a new window on the screen. Kurt leans closer and- there it is, his presentation, completely unharmed.

"Oh my god," he breathes out. "I'm saved." Relief rushes through his body, and he feels like whooping or dancing in joy.

"You just had the wrong box," Blaine says with a grin, opening the presentation and checking that it works.

Kurt laughs, running his fingers through his hair. "God, I feel so stupid now. How hard can it be to use a damn memory stick? Or to recognize the right computer?"

Blaine glances at him, his smile softening. "Kurt, don't worry about it - you'd be surprised how many new interns get it wrong, especially during their first days when they're already nervous about messing up. It's only your second day here, right?"

Kurt lowers his hand, blinking at Blaine. "You remembered that from my earlier ramble on the phone?"

Blaine turns away, suddenly looking a bit sheepish. "I... You had a nice voice, and you weren't as mean as people with tech problems usually are, so I... I don't know, it just stuck in my head, I suppose."

"Oh," Kurt says quietly, feeling his cheeks flushing with the words.

"I mean, I was having a boring day and you made me laugh because you weren't like any of our usual callers," Blaine rambles on, "and you were funny and it sounded like you really care about your job and now- I mean, I had no idea you would be so-" Blaine gestures at him, his cheeks a little pink as well. "You work at Vogue, so I assumed you would be dressed like an amazing model, but you look just..."

Kurt blinks again, suddenly realizing what's happening. "Are you _flirting_ with me?"

Blaine scrunches his nose, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Would... Would that flirting be appreciated?"

"It most certainly would," Kurt answers, not even trying to hide his grin.

"Then I am," Blaine says decisively, his mouth turning into a smile of his own. "Or, at least I'm trying to. I'm not very good at this," he adds with a small laugh. "Especially when I'm trying to flirt with guys that are as gorgeous as you. Not that I generally flirt with a lot of guys, or-"

"Oh, trust me, you're doing very well," Kurt assures him with a wink. He feels a sudden new confidence now that the presentation is working, he's not getting fired and he has a cute tech guy flirting with him in the middle of a conference room in the Vogue offices. "However, I must ask... Is there any way I can repay you for saving my ass, oh brave IT knight?"

Blaine's smile widens, his eyes sparkling. "Oh, I was merely doing my job, brave Vogue intern," he plays along, doing a little bow. "But if you wish to thank me, kind sir, you can let me take you out for lunch later today. I know a marvelous coffee shop."

Kurt can't help it - he giggles, hiding his smile behind his hand. "That would be most agreeable, brave knight," he says, doing a little bow of his own that makes Blaine look at him like he can't believe Kurt is real - or like he wants to lean over and kiss him.

Well, maybe they can do that after lunch, if all goes well.

"Alright," Blaine says, his smile practically breaking his whole face in half. "I should- I should go then."

"Yes, I'm sure you have other adorable interns who need help with their computers waiting for you," Kurt jokes.

"They won't be as adorable as you," Blaine counters, and it doesn't even sound like a line - it sounds like he's just telling the truth, and Kurt can feel the blush on his cheeks darkening even more. "I'll- I'll see you at one, in the lobby?" Blaine asks, his voice hopeful.

"It's a date," Kurt says, and the way Blaine's eyes light up at the last word makes his own stomach swoop with excited anticipation.

"See you then, Kurt Hummel," Blaine says with a small wave, backing out of the room like he can't keep his eyes off Kurt, and Kurt makes a mental note to find out what Blaine's last name is during their date.

Date. He has a date. With a cute guy who seems like a really nice person as well.

No one is around to hear it, so Kurt gives himself the permission to squeal out loud, computer troubles and not-so-nice co-workers completely forgotten.

(Outside in the corridor Blaine squeals as well.)


End file.
